Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

This is a picture of our hunting group right before we started the field dressing (which took about 3 hours) and then hiked the 3/4 mile back to the trucks at 9pm and then after driving back to the cabin, spent another 2 hours cleaning and hanging all of the meat. We weren't smiling as much at 12:30am. The shot is just the beginning.

So onto our hunt. We arrived in Pinetop-Lakeside Thursday afternoon. Opening Day was Friday. Friday morning our group met a local friend of a friend who took us directly to a mountain in our unit. We glassed for a total of 10 minutes before spotting a herd of 8, which consisted of a single 2 point bull and 7 cows. Our hunt was an anterless hunt. We were about 450 yards away at a very steep angle, with nothing to rest our guns on, so instead of trying a standing shot we were sure to miss, we tried to close the gap. At about 350 yards, they had us made and at 300 yards, the herd took off. Our friend started sprinting down this very steep mountain and told us we were going to cut them off. I barely managed to keep up with him. At one point we looked behind us and didn't see the rest of the group and he made a comment about them "sitting around eating Cheerios". Once we were down in the cedars, I spotted some hind legs kicking up, but that was it, they were gone.

Back on top of the mountain, we spotted the herd again in a draw about a mile and a half away. So we drove the trucks down and set up on this peninsula-like ridge that overlooked the draw and had great views from three angles. We didn't see anything else that morning, but resolved to come back in the afternoon.

That afternoon we came back and as soon as we walked up on the ridge, we spotted a herd of 6 at 218 yards. Jon took three shots, but the adrenaline got to him. I couldn't get my scope on them as I was fully zoomed in. Many lessons learned that day. Later in the afternoon, I had a 120 yard shot at one that was facing me and partially hidden by a tree. I rushed my shot because it was walking behind the tree and missed. That was it for Day 1.

Day 2, we went back to the ridge and as we were walking and cleared the trees in the dark, we spooked a herd of at least 30. No shots taken. We went to our ridge and set up about 150 yards apart at three spots. Each shooter with at least 1 spotter (Jon, myself, and Mike had tags). Rich spotted a cow at 450 yards. I didn't want to take the shot at that range, but Rich convinced me to do it as we didn't have cover to sneak in closer. I took it and scared the hell out of the cow, but didn't hit her. That was it for the morning.

Day 2 afternoon, we came back to our lucky ridge and again set up about 150 yards apart. Jon was on the left, I was in the middle, and Mike was on the right. About 2.5 hours into it, Nick suggested moving to a different spot. I said no way. Good thing we stayed. A half hour later, Jon got on the radio and said a herd of 7 cows was on its way in. Rich spotted the first one as it was walking between trees at 220 yards. As it poked its body out at the next gap, I aimed and shot. Double lunged it with my Tikka T3 .30-06 loaded with Hornady SST 180 grain rounds. It actually broke a rib going in, got both lungs, and then exited (the exit wound is what you see). It jumped out and then collapsed. About a minute later, Jon nailed his with his Savage Axis .270 loaded with Federal 140 grain rounds. At that point, they were gone and Mike didn't have the opportunity to take a shot. Our estimated weights were 350 for Jon's and 550 for mine.

As my first time taking a big game animal, it's been a humbling experience. Being out in that beautiful country with family and friends, harvesting an animal, and being able to go through the cleaning and butchering process (I spent 5 hours yesterday butchering and am only half done) was an experience that will impact me for the rest of my life. An animal's life has been taken on behalf of my family and friends and I feel a little sad about that. I also feel more connected to and appreciative of the entire food chain. I hope I always feel that way.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

I'm a little late to the party, but QE2 is such a disaster in the making that I am unable to allow my embarrassing lateness prevent me from posting a link to Yves's reaction. In addition to continuing the economic carnage, the disharmony among the major monetary policy players should be fun viewing for the next couple of years.

At least its not idiots who are screwing us over. It's just very smart people who can't help but try to show off the size of their balls.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Pixies. It was a long time coming for a band I've been following for 20 years and has consistently been one of my top 2 favorite bands. Very fun show. Black Francis can scream with the best of them.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

This post is dedicated to the two cheeses at Calicchio & Sons whose names I cannot recall. And one of them was really quite stinky good. Rest in peace.

The cheese whose name I do recall:

Blu di Bufala - Blue cheese made from water buffalo milk. Super buttery, but hardened buttery, not soft buttery (e.g., St. Agur). Mildly sharp. Very tasty. Dipping it in raw honey or eating it in between spoons of olive oil ice cream takes it to 11.

Friday, September 10, 2010

I'm not sure how it happened, but I've ended up with a lot of new youth fiction on my shelf over the years. I'm not sure how The Book Thief ended up on my shelf (was it a gift? was I browsing? did I read a review and put it on my Wish List?), but I'm glad it did.

Despite its appearances, it's a short book and a quick read. But it's powerful. I might be a sucker for anything to do with death, WWII, and the Holocaust (but really, who isn't?), but this book left me thinking and feeling for days. Read it. You'll be glad you did.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

I too was shocked when I was watching This Week and a political ad for Ben Quayle (yes, Dan Quayle's son) popped up. More than a little shocked. I don't remember his father being looked on terribly fondly, but yes, Ben mentioned his father.

Monday, August 02, 2010

I recently finished Life of Pi and can say that this quick and fun little read had me thinking at least for a few days. It's zoo keeping, animal training, disaster survival, and religion all rolled in to one entertaining package.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Oregon Rogue Blue - Made from raw cow's milk, this blue is a bit firmer than the creamy blues (i.e., St. Agur, Fourme d'Ambert). It makes eating much easier as you can cut small wedges. It's neither salty, nor creamy at room temperature. There is a slight hint of the Danish blue aftertaste. It's a B/B+ on my blue scale.

Monday, June 07, 2010

The U.S. definitely makes it out of its Group. Portugal does not (only if Drogba returns for the Ivory Coast). I still like Ghana even without Essien. England is beaten in the semis. If Argentina didn't have a psycho coke-head coach, they'd win the tournament hands down. Mexico makes it to the quarters and has 4-year bragging rights in CONCACAF (i.e., the U.S.). Speaking of coke-heads, Argentina's loss to Germany in the quarters causes Maradona to set himself on fire.

Saturday, June 05, 2010

Sprout's Soy Cheese - Quite simply the most disgusting thing I've ever touched, smelled, or tasted. It touched my lips and I immediately knew I'd made a bad choice. It hit my tongue and I ran for the sink. Even worse than Birgfichter (a.k.a. Baby's diaper after baby begins eating solid foods), which by the way I did not spit out.

It was a proud moment when we gave it to Zane the first time and he also recognized the foulness and ran for the garbage can. Zane, I hope that this experiment with the GFCF diet does NOT result in you not being able to eat real cheese for the rest of your life.

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

University of Arizona and Arizona State law and public policy professors have done an excellent job within this paper posted on SSRN of distilling the impact of SB 1070 on Arizona's criminal justice system.

"Our goal is simple: to begin to identify the central issues raised by this legislation. This is, however, no simple task. With all respect to the views of others, in our view those who state that the meaning of the bill is obvious, or that it simply mirrors federal law, either have not read the bill, or do not understand the difficult issues of federalism and criminal law and procedure raised by this text and existing law. The bill creates many new crimes and duties, some of them previously unknown not only in Arizona but in federal or state law. To understand this bill requires the expertise of one half of a law school faculty, since issues arise about both structural and substantive constitutional law, immigration law, criminal law, criminal procedure, state and local government law, and other fields. SB 1070 includes many provisions whose interpretation is open to a range of interpretations."

Monday, May 31, 2010

Whole Foods has long had an outstanding cheese selection, but my Whole Foods hasn't really gone European cheese on me (aside from the typical Goudas, Blue Stilton, and Rocquefort). So when I was in Chicago last week and stopped at Whole Foods for dinner and went to find some cheese to go with my beets and summer squash, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the cheese selection was decidedly Continental.

Mimolette - A French cow's milk cheese that looks like a cantaloupe (due to the cheese mites going to town on the rind). I'm a fan of it's hazelnut, deep cheddar flavor. Whole Foods' Mimolette is medium aged (about a year).

Valdeon - A Spanish blue made from both cow's and goat's milk and wrapped in sycamore leaves. Very creamy, with lots of bite.

I actually had a tough time picking just these two, as they also had St. Agur, Fourme d'Ambert, and a three year old Gouda. Next week.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor: From the same company that makes Humboldt Fog, comes an aged goat cheese, with the creamy chevre center. Only they added flecks of truffle in the chevre. Now repeat after me: "Oh My!"

The St. Agur that is unbelievably at Whole Foods is pretty fantastic as well. Would you believe that chasing down St. Agur with Diet Coke is one of the more amazing cheese/beverage combinations I've ever had? And yet it is.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Now that I live in Arizona and I don't commute to New York any more, I've come to the realization that the cheese scene in Arizona isn't very good. Sure you can go to Whole Foods or AJs and they might have Point Reyes Blue (probably not, but they'll definitely have a passable Blue Stilton), but you're definitely not going to get a St. Agur, a Fourme d'Ambert, or even a smoked Caciocavallo. Just not happening. So instead of paying the $50 in shipping that it would cost me to have some of my favorite cheeses shipped to me, I've had to settle for less variety and have simply been searching for good cheese of the more popular varieties.

So I've been pleasantly surprised to find out that Costco does an excellent job of sourcing its cheeses. Here are my favorites (at room temperature of course):

- Parmigiano Reggiano (although the rind is a little too tough)- Pecorino (in all of its sweaty saltiness)- Aged Gouda (delicious and only gets better over time)- Chevre (has a little bit of an iron aftertaste, but nothing that some strawberries can't take care of)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Thursday, April 22, 2010

My Grandma Fuller recently passed away. I can't really write about it because dealing with emotions isn't one of my strengths. I'd rather just wrap the whole thing up in a nice humorous package. I will say that I was asked by Grandma to give the eulogy at her funeral. A Catholic funeral with a full rosary (at one point I leaned over to my Aunt and asked her how many mysteries there were - it turns out there are five). Attending her funeral and being able to participate was a sad, but wonderful event.

A couple of weekends after the funeral, my dad asked if I could go to Grandma's house with him to help clean out her back shed (he also promised to pay for lunch at La Casita's, which if you're ever in Mammoth, Az, you must eat at. Almost as good as Grandma's cooking). My job was to clean out the shed. My mother's job was to go through the stuff and figure out what we were going to keep and what we weren't.

A couple of hours in to the cleaning, my mom shouted, "Mike, I found your inheritance!" And thus, I came in to possession of these magnificent 2001 World Series Champions Arizona Diamondback bobbleheads (i.e., in order, Steve Finley, Matt Williams, Tony Womack, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Luis Gonzales, and Mark Grace). Why Grandma had these in her shed, in a box labeled "Christmas", will remain a mystery, but having these displayed in my office, where I'll be able to glance over and remember both Grandma, as well as the happiest sports moment of my life (and probably one of the top 5 happiest moments of my life at that), just makes me smile.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

I ran Ragnar again this year. As my dad was running at 1:30am Saturday on the Carefree Highway, a police cruiser went by at about 100 mph. A couple of miles later, as my dad ran in and I was getting ready to go, the organizers stopped the race. Robby Mayasich, a senior at Brophy, had been hit by a car. Robby died today from his injuries.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Leonora: A Spanish goat cheese. Creamy goat center with a soft, ashy rind. Very Humboldt Fog-like, except that that ash is the rind rather than a middle layer. It's also a little stronger than Humboldt Fog. Pretty good.

In other news, on the recommendation of "experts", I ate my Vacherin Mont d'Or with both boiled potatoes and tuna fish (yes, tuna fish). The potatoes were a hit. I'm still trying to digest the tuna fish.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Sunday, January 17, 2010

On longer drives, Liz and I usually talk about things that we have been reading lately. This was the topic of last night's conversation:

The Atlantic has a terrific piece on flowers, evolution, genetics, and children. A relatively new theory on why evolution hasn't weeded out the genes generally considered unhelpful to the propagation of our species (i.e., Why does 25% of the population carry the gene for depression and 20% carry the gene for anti-social behavior?).

It turns out that those with these types of genes, if they are in the right environment, can become orchids, one of nature's most beautiful flowers.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

As I sit here in my cushy office, sipping my diet soda, thinking about the temperature of the cheese (boratta) I ate last night (too cold), I can't begin to fathom the suffering of those in Haiti right now.

LDS Humanitarian Services has already started sending supplies. You can donate to the Haiti relief fund here.